I'm in Bleach, starting with Unlimited Blade Works.

Haruko rolled her eyes at Erin, then smiled and accepted the villagers' compliments.

"By the way, Ms. Haruko, where are you headed now? Will you be coming back?"

At this moment, someone finally noticed the luggage on Erin's back and couldn't help but ask.

These words made the villagers who had gathered around feel uneasy.

Yes, Haruko is a shrine maiden, and Lord Erin is a powerful samurai.

It is thanks to Lord Erin and Miss Haruko that Sakura Village has maintained peace for so many years.

The evil spirits will be purified by Haruko, and the warlords and bandits will be defeated by Lord Erin.

Anyway, since they moved to Yingyuan Village, they have never been harassed by evil spirits or warlords.

Judging from the way Lord Erin and Miss Haruko look now, it seems they are about to leave Sakura Village.

Without Lord Erin and Miss Haruko, can Sakuragen Village maintain its current peace?

Immediately, worried expressions appeared on the faces of the villagers.

"Don't worry, everyone. Even if we leave, Sakura Village will be fine."

Seeing the worry on everyone's faces, Erin comforted them, "This evil spirit was actually purified by Haruko three months ago. However, Haruko was worried that the evil spirits would target this place again after she left, so she has been setting up a barrier for Sakura Village for the past three months."

"Now that the barrier protecting Sakura Village has been set up, we can leave with peace of mind."

"Three months ago, wasn't that right?"

Upon hearing Erin's words, the villagers immediately remembered that three months ago, Lord Erin seemed to have gone out on some business and had given the children a few days off.

Then, one day, an explosion occurred in front of Lord Erin's gym. When everyone grabbed hoes and shovels to help, they discovered that a powerful battle had taken place in front of the gym, leaving the ground in a terrible state. It was only with everyone's help that the damage was repaired.

So, that day was the battle that resulted from Haruko-sama purifying the evil spirits.

Immediately, the villagers' gratitude towards Haruko was palpable.

"Lady Haruko, can't you stay?"

"Everyone, Lady Haruko is a shrine maiden. We cannot selfishly leave her here with us."

"After all, besides us, there are many people in the outside world who are being harassed by evil spirits and are waiting for Haruko-sama to save them."

Erin looked at the person who said those words with surprise.

In this era, people with such ideological awareness are truly rare.

After nodding to the person, Erin said to everyone, "Furuhashi is right. Haruko-sama is a shrine maiden, and there are many people outside waiting for Haruko-sama to save them. Therefore, it is impossible for us to stay in Sakura Village for a long time."

"However, since the shrine maiden Haruko has lived here for so many years, this place can also be considered our second hometown."

"When we get tired from exorcising evil spirits outside, we will definitely come back here to rest for a while. Please don't blame us for disturbing you again then."

"Lord Erin, you are slapping us in the face by saying that."

No sooner had Erin finished speaking than the villagers retorted, "Sakura Village was established because of Lord Erin and Lady Haruko. This entire Sakura Village belongs to Lord Erin and Miss Haruko. We are merely their tenants. How could we say that your return home is disturbing us?"

"That's right, that's right, Lord Erin, Miss Haruko, you can go out and exorcise the evil spirits without worry. We will build a warehouse next to Lord Erin's dojo, and we will store 30% of the grain tax revenue from the harvest in the warehouse every year."

"Yes, yes, Lord Erin, Miss Haruko, with us supervising you, you must come back often after you leave, otherwise we won't be responsible if the food in the warehouse spoils."

It seems that the villagers of Sakura Village are not stupid. Knowing that it is impossible to keep Erin and Haruko, they try every means to get Erin and Haruko to come back more often.

"Well, then I'll leave my dojo in your care. If we get tired outside, we'll come back to rest."

Amidst the villagers' warm farewell, Erin and Haruko left Sakura Village.

"call……"

Haruko only breathed a sigh of relief when she could no longer see the villagers, and then she slumped down.

"Ha ha ha ha……"

Erin, who rarely saw Haruko like this, burst into laughter.

"Erin-kun is bullying people."

Seeing Erin's reaction, Haruko Kuchiki pouted and turned her back to Erin, indicating that she was angry.

"Hahaha, sorry, sorry, Haruko was just too cute just now."

"Humph!"

When Haruko Kuchiki heard Erin's praise, she snorted, but the slight upturn of her lips betrayed her true feelings.

"How does it feel, Haruko? It's nice to be expected of, isn't it?"

"Well, they'll probably be very disappointed if they find out I'm not a truly powerful priestess."

"Who said our Lady Haruko isn't a powerful shrine maiden?"

Erin took Haruko's hand and comforted her, "Haruko, you know that the sorcerers and priestesses in the world are just ordinary people with spiritual pressure. At most, they have figured out some ways to condense and use spiritual power."

“Haruko’s spiritual pressure is no less than that of those shrine maidens. In addition, Haruko, you have mastered the Kido. In terms of strength alone, there may not be a single shrine maiden in the world who is stronger than Haruko.”

"It may sound arrogant to say this, but Haruko, you are very likely to be the strongest shrine maiden in the world."

"Ah."

Even though they've been married for many years, Haruko would still feel shy being held by Erin-kun like this.

"Then let's go, Haruko, let's begin our exorcism journey!"

"My lady, based on my deduction, there is a strong evil aura in that direction, and there is a high possibility that there are evil spirits. Let's go that way."

"Yes, please lead the way, sir..."

"Ha ha ha ha……"

……

Inside Fujiwara Castle, Lord Fujiwara Junichi paced anxiously back and forth at the main gate of the castle, glancing outwards every now and then.

"Why aren't you coming?"

As the sun set, Junichi Fujiwara's expression grew increasingly panicked.

Even unconsciously, he had slowly moved away from the main hall of the city lord's mansion, ready to escape at any moment.

In this era, the Fujiwara clan's ability to become the lord of a castle naturally made them a powerful warlord force within a radius of several dozen miles.

However, no matter how powerful a force is, it is powerless to resist those evil spirits.

A year ago, the old lord of Fujiwara Castle passed away, and Fujiwara Junichi succeeded him.

However, not long after, the lord's mansion in Fujiwara Castle suddenly became extremely gloomy. Many of the maids, guards, and even the lord's family members fell seriously ill.

Therefore, Fujiwara Junichi summoned the priests in Fujiwara Castle and asked them to perform an exorcism.

Unfortunately, the sorcerer not only failed to exorcise the evil spirit, but also returned severely injured.

According to the severely injured mage, the evil spirit in the city lord's mansion has become powerful enough that if things continue, it will turn into an even more terrifying monster.

At that time, probably no one in the city lord's mansion will be able to escape.

During this time, Fujiwara Junichi dispatched many people to various places to find powerful sorcerers and priestesses, determined to expel or purify the evil spirit before it grew to the point of being able to leave the hall.

"Lord City Lord..."

Just as Fujiwara Junichi was getting impatient, a servant rushed over.

"Well? Has the priestess arrived yet?"

At this, Fujiwara Jun immediately ran out of the city lord's mansion gate. He glanced behind the servant and, seeing no one else, a hint of disappointment flashed in his eyes before asking the servant.

"Lord of the city, Lady Haruko and the others have arrived at the city gate. I came to inform you first."

"Alright, alright, go and tell everyone to get ready so we can have a welcome party for Haruko-sama later."

Upon hearing the servant's words, Fujiwara Jun was overjoyed and immediately arranged for people to prepare food.

The people Fujiwara Junichi sent out to find the sorcerer and shrine maiden were all determined to completely expel this evil spirit. They couldn't afford to waste any more time. After all, according to the sorcerer in Fujiwara Castle who was seriously injured, this evil spirit would break free from the restrictions of the castle lord's hall and become an even more powerful "demon" within a month at most.

At that point, it will be beyond the capabilities of mages and priestesses to handle.

Therefore, the guards who went out to find sorcerers and priestesses would tell the sorcerers and priestesses what the sorcerer had said, hoping to find a powerful priestess who could purify this evil spirit.

Unfortunately, most of the sorcerers and witches, after hearing their descriptions, said they were powerless against this evil spirit that was on the verge of corruption.

Just when Fujiwara Junichi was about to despair, one of the guards brought good news.

According to the sorcerer, a year ago, a witch appeared on this land, and her power surpassed that of all sorcerers and witches.

Wherever she passes, no matter how powerful the evil spirit, it will be purified by her.

Even many mages and priestesses who had met this witch held her in high esteem.

Because of her power, she was even praised by mages and priestesses as "the legendary priestess - Haruko".

As luck would have it, the monk knew some information about the shrine maiden Haruko, and based on this information, he finally made contact with this "legendary shrine maiden".

……

"This is Fujiwara Castle? It doesn't even feel as good as our Sakura Village."

After entering Fujiwara Castle, the castle lord's guards continued to accompany Erin and Haruko as they slowly walked towards the castle lord's mansion. As for the servant who rushed to the mansion to deliver the message, no one paid him any attention.

"Haha, Haruko, you're really underestimating me!"

Hearing Haruko say that, Erin couldn't help but roll her eyes.

"If the villagers of Yingyuan Village are not living as well as outsiders, then why should I even establish Yingyuan Village? Wouldn't it be better to find a better city to settle down in?"

"Too."

"But Erin-kun, did you sense it? This powerful evil aura."

As the three of them approached the city lord's mansion, Qingzi's expression gradually became serious.

At the same time, there was also some excitement.

During this time, Haruko's combat experience increased significantly as she traveled around exorcising evil spirits as a "shrine maiden." Naturally, her reputation also spread through her interactions with the sorcerers and shrine maidens she encountered.

Well, in some ways, Haruko has gradually adapted to her identity as a "shrine maiden," and she often refers to the spiritual pressure of evil spirits as "evil energy."

"Ah, it seems that this Fujiwara lord is quite lucky, finding us just before the evil spirit is about to fall."

"Otherwise, in no more than five days, this evil spirit will fall into nothingness. At that time, it's hard to say how many people in Fujiwara Castle will survive."